New build for a co-worker

[TWISM]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
Web browsing and Photoshop mainly

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$1000 or less

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Nebraska

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Co-worker is coming from an iMac so I know everything isnt valid sometimes, but it is this time. He will need it all. Case, components, monitor, etc...

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

Id say 20-22 inch is what he is looking for

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

ASAP, his iMac died this weekend.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.

User wont be doing any gaming so if onboard video would be cheaper overall that would be great. USB 3.0 for future.
1
0) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

No, he wants Windows 7 and Office 2010 included in the $1000 or less.

 

[Dangman]

For Office 2010, will only getting Word, Powerpoint, and Excel be fine with him? Or is he planning on using more Office 2010 apps? If so, what are those additional apps?

 

[tonytnnt]

I'm assuming your coworker has a separate budget for a Windows copy of Photoshop. Assuming you need to get Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM and Office 2010 Home and Student, you're looking at $100 (Win7) + $125 (Office 2010.) If he needs Home and Business you're looking at $223.

Does your coworker use any Photoshop filters that take advantage of CUDA? How often does he use them? This will dictate if he should get a dedicated GPU.

I would recommend the following assuming Office 2010 Home and Student:

$252 - Intel Core i5-2500 and SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4EG HD155UI 1.5TB 5400 RPM
$100 (+$1 shipping) - Intel BOXDH67BLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
$41 - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
$200 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB
$9 (+$2 shipping) - Scythe 2.5 Twin Mounter RC HDD/SSD
$17 (+$3 shipping) - LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS70 OEM - OEM
$58 (use promo code PSUSV9) - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W
$195 (+$10 shipping) - Fractal Design Arc Mini Black High Performance PC Computer mATX Case w/ USB 3.0 and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Pick 1 of 2:
$110 - Office 2010 Home and Student Product Key Card (no media) For 1 PC
$130 - Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student 3-User

Subtotal: $981.49
Shipping (to my zipcode, 68154): $15.78
Total: $997.27

Total assume $110 Home and Student

The case is in there as a placeholder. It's a great case, but your coworker's tastes may prefer something else.

I tried getting a reasonably priced mATX motherboard with a USB 3.0 header to enable front panel USB 3.0 but they simply don't exist. I could only find two unreasonably priced boards, and the cheaper one ($150 Gigabyte) seems to have a lot of DOA issues. The one I can recommend is $180 (Asus RoG.) If you don't care about mATX (I realize your original post made no mention of it) you have a lot more options if you really want front panel USB 3 (which you also made no mention of, but it's nice to have.)